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      03-29-2018, 06:44 PM   #1
koruptor
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Bulb-out revealed lamp socket burn

This morning I got a bulb-out warning on the dash and discovered one of my brake bulbs went out.

When I took the bulb out, the filament actually looked intact but the lamp socket (part #9) has burn marks on one of the two contact leads. There is also a burn mark on the area of the contact plate in the tail light assembly with some of the plastic around it melted. See pics below.

I went ahead and ordered new brake light bulbs (LED) and a replacement lamp socket.

Is this condition a cause of concern (e.g. electrical/fire hazard)? Should I try to "clean" the contact area of the assembly, or replace the entire assembly? I just want to make sure a replacement bulb will work, won't melt anything else, and/or catch fire.

Thanks.
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      03-29-2018, 07:06 PM   #2
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It wasn't making solid contact between the bulb socket and the housing assembly.
You should definitely try to clean the contact area of the assembly.
Scrape the muck off and shine it up with some Scotchbrite. I don't think you need to replace it.
I wouldn't worry about it starting a fire. Not much tinder available in that area.

When you put the new bulb in, give it a good wiggle and make sure the bulb doesn't wink.

Once you get the LED bulbs in there, make sure to watch the lights the moment the ignition is turned on.
The bulb test is fun to watch.
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      03-29-2018, 07:21 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StickMon View Post
It wasn't making solid contact between the bulb socket and the housing assembly.
You should definitely try to clean the contact area of the assembly.
Scrape the muck off and shine it up with some Scotchbrite. I don't think you need to replace it.
I wouldn't worry about it starting a fire. Not much tinder available in that area.

When you put the new bulb in, give it a good wiggle and make sure the bulb doesn't wink.

Once you get the LED bulbs in there, make sure to watch the lights the moment the ignition is turned on.
The bulb test is fun to watch.
StickMon droppin the knowledge! Thanks for the tips, I'll give it a try.
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      06-09-2018, 11:20 PM   #4
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Update: So after cleaning out the contacts, the bulb would stop working intermittently. I figured it was due to the corrosion, so I covered it with conductive copper tape. My idea was to improve the connection. After some testing it's still going out.

I'm at a loss as to what to do at this point. Of course, my last resort is to replace the entire assembly. But if anyone has additional solutions worth trying I'm game.
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      04-27-2019, 01:49 AM   #5
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I have the exact same issue, just noticed it this week and I plan to replace both bulbs and sockets. Only one socket has the burn marks... I wasnt planning on LED, should I? I assumed it would throw the dummy light on the dash like i have now
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      04-27-2019, 02:23 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliktop View Post
I have the exact same issue, just noticed it this week and I plan to replace both bulbs and sockets. Only one socket has the burn marks... I wasnt planning on LED, should I? I assumed it would throw the dummy light on the dash like i have now
I'm running some LED bulbs for my brake lights and I have no regrets. They seem brighter too. If you decide to go LED find bulbs in color "brilliant red" because there are some people who have reported that white LEDs make the lens pink.

My specific LED aren't CANBUS bulbs and they throw out an error if I'm engaging the brakes for too long (e.g. traffic), but the bulbs still work despite the error. I'm going to eventually replace mine when I find some CANBUS bulbs in brilliant red. I'm just...procrastinating.
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      05-01-2019, 10:46 PM   #7
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update from my end, the pics you posted of both the bulb socket and the socket plate in the tail light assembly look exactly the same. This is on my drivers side(left)... I tried to use a small metal brush to clean off the corrosion, but the light doesn't work. I used a brand new socket. I'm looking at replacing the entire assembly if I can't find a workaround by this weekend.

Hit me up if you want to sell a working left side tail light!!!

Forgot to add that I'm looking at these bulbs per your recommendation above. Any thoughts?

Last edited by Sliktop; 05-01-2019 at 10:53 PM..
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      05-02-2019, 02:19 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliktop View Post
update from my end, the pics you posted of both the bulb socket and the socket plate in the tail light assembly look exactly the same. This is on my drivers side(left)... I tried to use a small metal brush to clean off the corrosion, but the light doesn't work. I used a brand new socket. I'm looking at replacing the entire assembly if I can't find a workaround by this weekend.

Hit me up if you want to sell a working left side tail light!!!

Forgot to add that I'm looking at these bulbs per your recommendation above. Any thoughts?
Good luck with the tail light assembly!

As for the LED brake light bulb, I went with these. Just a reminder so we're clear, these bulbs will throw an error, but they work. Whenever I get around to replacing these with better ones I'll update this post.
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      05-11-2019, 05:12 PM   #9
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how good/bad of an idea is it to try and solder the plate to build up the contact to touch the socket? I figure I might as well try it if my only other option is to replace the whole housing... Any thoughts? I've never soldered anything before...
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      05-12-2019, 12:26 PM   #10
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well.. quick update, I decided to go buy a $10 solder iron and some 60/40 solder. I fixed the plate pretty well by dripping solder into the crack where it was burnt. See OP's pic above, the black spot on the plate.. Mine looked identical. Anyway... happy to report that with new socket and new bulb and now solder, it's fixed and working. I'll update this thread if it goes out again.. $50 for bulb, socket and solder was way cheaper than ordering a new tail light assembly.

TLDR: New Bulb + New Socket + Soldered Plate = Fixed
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